A view on ecological and social taxonomy in the EU

Abstract

The article examines the views in the European Union on ecological and social taxonomy and Reports on this topic submitted to the European Commission. The author shows how the scope of the «Taxonomy Ordinance» is expanding beyond environmentally sustainable economic activities and transferred to the social goals of sustainability. The connection between ecological and social taxonomy is shown and it is noted that social taxonomy was developed in the European Union according to the model of ecological taxonomy. The tasks facing the authors of the Social Taxonomy Report are highlighted. It is emphasized that there are three very important differences between ecological and social taxonomy, which sometimes make it difficult to apply some of the approaches used in ecological taxonomy to social phenomena. The article notes that the social taxonomy is not intended to replace national regulation and must respect the contractual separation that exists in different countries, which means recognition by the EU governing bodies of differences in national labor market models and collective bargaining systems. The author concludes that social taxonomy is designed to support investment in activities that contribute significantly to social goals, in much the same way that environmental taxonomy is designed to support investment in environmentally sound activities.